Leak: Newsom’s Gerrymander Will Eliminate 4 of 9 Republican Districts

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to gerrymander California’s congressional districts will eliminate at least four Republican-held districts, while securing Democratic control of four other contested seats.

Currently, Republicans only hold nine of California’s 52 congressional seats (17%). Under the new map that the governor wants to present voters in a special election in November, Republicans will hold five seats (just under 10%). Nearly 40% of California voters chose Republican candidates in the last election in 2024, on a map created by an “independent” redistricting commission (which Democrats have gamed, regardless).

Politico reported the leaked chart, which was shown to Democrats in the state legislature, whose support Newsom needs to approve his special election — assuming it is legal and constitutional which Republicans deny. Politico reported that Republicans Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley, Ken Calvert, and Darrell Issa would lose their seats under the gerrymandering plan, while Democrats Josh Harder, Adam Gray, George Whitesides, Derek Tran, and Dave Min would enjoy additional protection from potential Republican challengers in 2026.

Newsom claims it is necessary to eliminate Republican seats to “defend democracy,” given that Texas is about to redraw its own congressional map to eliminate four to five Democratic seats. Texas, however, is acting in the wake of a Department of Justice conclusion that the current Texas map, including “majority-minority” districts, is unconstitutional in the wake of recent federal jurisprudence and a flawed 2020 Census count.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.